CAMPUS NEWS

The university has received notification that Walter Willis, a building services worker and group leader for Custodial Health Sciences, passed away last week. The public viewing will be from 1-7 p.m. today at Strowder’s Funeral Chapel, 822 E. 105th St. Funeral services are scheduled for April 20 beginning at 10:30 a.m. at Strowder's. Funds are being collected to assist his family. For more information, contact joseph.corrao@case.edu, 368-6621, or theresa.hancock@case.edu, 368-6137.

The campus community is invited to participate in a blood drive at University Hospitals of Cleveland on April 20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the performance area of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. Blood is constantly needed for emergencies for both adult and pediatric patients. For additional information, contact Vanessa Griffin at (216) 844-1680.

Dr. Sasha Zill, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Department of Anatomy and Pathology researcher, is familiar with cockroaches. Zill is collaborating with researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland to develop robots with leg censors similar to those in cockroaches.

Ah, it’s that time of year when, once again, we become obsessed with our lawns. You say you want a perfect lawn? Well, here are eight steps you should follow: 1. Begin with a lot of money. If you want a trophy lawn, you have to be willing to pay for it, just like the Joneses down the street, who, along with the rest of the country, spend on their lawns an amount roughly equal to the gross domestic product of Vietnam. Resist the temptation to think you are simply pouring money into a hole in the ground. Remember the words of Red Sox groundskeeper David Mellor: “If anyone gives you the business over your love affair with your lawn, remind them it’s better to be growing and mowing than, say, blowing the family savings on a weekend in Vegas.”

“(PRN) VirTra Systems Files 2005 Annual Report”

VirTra Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VTSI) today filed its audited 2005 10-K annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Calendar 2005 promotional sales included returning customers such as Red Baron(R) and Buick(R), and new projects including Pfizer Pharmaceutical and the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. The year also witnessed the launch of a specially-modified IVR(TM) 180 simulator for Case Western Reserve University's speech pathology treatment and training research project.

“The 3rd Coast”

Gee, guess there’s competition for those biotech companies we covet – and guess it’s closer than Boston or San Francisco. In this particular case, the competition is posed by a former Pfizer Inc. pharmaceutical research center in Skokie, Ill., that Forest City Enterprises is redeveloping as a biotech office park. But isn’t Forest City also interested in possibly developing the West Quad, the 14-acre research park envisioned for Case Western Reserve University’s campus? Doesn’t that make it a traitor to Cleveland’s cause? Not really. We share the preceding not to exonerate Forest City, but to re-emphasize the need for the West Quad project to move forward. There is tremendous brain power at University Circle, and it holds great economic potential for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio if it can be exploited commercially.

“Competition Worries Graduate Programs”

Debra W. Stewart is concerned about the future of graduate education in the United States. She heads the Council of Graduate Schools, a nonprofit organization made up of institutions that annually award more than 95 percent of all U.S. doctorates and about 85 percent of all U.S. master's degrees.

EVENTS

The Case Crew Club invites the campus community to its first annual Alumni Regatta on April 22 beginning at 9:45 a.m. Case rowers will take on alumni in a battle of the classes on the Cuyahoga River. Directions to the boathouse can be found on http://crew.case.edu.

MaDaCol – the Mather Dance Collective featuring undergraduate dancers and members of the community – is hosting a spring concert on April 20 and 21 at 8 p.m., and April 22 at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Mather Dance Center, 11201 Bellflower Road. Tickets are $3 and will be on sale at the door. For details call 368-6262, or go to http://dance.case.edu.

To examine and create dialogue around issues pertaining to health policy, the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University has developed the Case Health Policy Forum. The public health implications of a possible avian flu epidemic will be discussed today at 5:30 p.m. at the Wolstein Research Building Auditorium. Free and open to the public. For more information, go to http://casemed.case.edu/healthpolicy.

The Hanna Lecture will feature Gottfried Schatz from the University of Basel today from 4-5 p.m. at the School of Medicine, room E401. His topic will be "Genomes, Chance and Individuality." For information contact alan.tartakoff@case.edu.

FOR FACULTY AND STAFF

UCITE is presenting a series of seminars in April for faculty on strategies for successfully running seminar classes. The series will cover four different topics, and each one will be repeated once on a different day and time. These sessions are open to all faculty and are especially appropriate for faculty teaching SAGES seminars. For class topics, dates and registration, go to http://www.case.edu/provost/UCITE/ and click on "Events."

A TIAA-CREF Individual Retirement Counseling Session is scheduled for April 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 209 Crawford. Reservations are required by calling Kay Fulk or Alisia Powell at (877) 209-3138.

FOR STUDENTS

The Weatherhead School of Management is inviting all undergraduate students to a “Personal Financial Literacy Session” on April 21 at 12:30 p.m. in room 03 of the Peter B. Lewis Building. The basics of personal financial issues such as budgeting, investing, credit basics and post graduation financial considerations will be discussed. Pizza and soda will be provided. For details contact tiffany.welch@case.edu.

Delta Kappa Epsilon is hosting the third annual Miss Case Pageant on April 21 in Schmitt Auditorium. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the competition begins at 7 p.m. There will be door prizes from local businesses, and proceeds benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. For more information go to http://bxdeke.org/misscase.php.

Students and the entire campus community are invited to attend Intersections: the SOURCE Undergraduate Symposium and Poster Session, on April 20 at Thwing Center from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approximately 100 students will discuss and/or show their research and creative projects. The event is designed to showcase how to get involved in research and creative projects. Refreshments will be provided. Go to http://www.case.edu/provost/source/symposium/ for details.

PERSONNEL

ACCOLADES

During the 2006 Harvard National Model United Nations conference, Shaan Gandhi, a junior biochemistry major, and Quinn Daniels, a junior biomedical engineering major, both won Outstanding Delegate Awards.